Consultation planned for Lincolnshire devolution proposals

Andy Hubbert

A series of public consultation events is set to take place in the county on plans for devolution of powers to Greater Lincolnshire.

In March, councils in the Greater Lincolnshire area signed a headline deal with the Government to have powers, resources and responsibilities devolved to the area.

The first deal includes a single pot of £450million of investment funds (£15m per year for 30 years) in addition to these devolved powers.

The government has made clear that a new tier of local government - a Combined Authority with an elected mayor - would be required to implement this deal and oversee the spending of the new cash and use of power and resources.

Members of all ten councils involved will now see more detailed proposals outlining the governance structure and functions that a mayoral combined authority could have, and will be asked to approve a public consultation on these proposals, which would begin no later than July 4, 2016.

The public consultation will seek feedback on the proposals, and the results will accompany the governance proposals that will be submitted to the Secretary of State in late August.

All council leaders have agreed that the administration costs of setting up the mayoral combined authority will be kept to a minimum with existing resources from within the councils being used wherever possible.

Each of the 10 councils will consider the proposal at their meetings in May, the first being North Lincolnshire on May 10, 2016. The papers are available to view here.